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“My name is Nathan Fielder and I graduated from one of Canada’s top business school with really good grades.” is how Nathan Fielder introduces himself before each episode of his cultdocu-reality show Nathan For You which has been airing on Comedy Central since 2013. He offers struggling small businesses assistance in exchange for nothing but the permission to record the unscripted hilarity that ensues to create installments of this uniquely preposterous show.

The above premise sound harmless and if you have not watched the show you would be fair to assume that it’s another wacky prank show where the host (and us, the viewers) have fun at the expense of the helpless business owners who simply expect a weird stranger with a camera crew to help them grow their business but things get interesting when Nathan reveals the solutions to achieve the same.

Saying that these ideas are outlandish doesn’t even begin to cover the magnificent bizarreness of this show which is often described as an extremely difficult watch for you don’t really know if you are being a sadomasochist when you laugh at all these innocent people ‘getting help’ from a (sometimes) lying, manipulating Nathan who wouldn’t stop at anything to service his craft. This man is borderline psychotic when it comes to committing to an idea, and I mean it as a compliment of the highest order.

To start with, in the S01 pilot, he tries to help a Yogurt parlor by introducing a new ‘Poo’ flavored yogurt to get people talking about the yogurt shop.

From here on, it just gets insaner with this man pulling gobsmackingly brave stunts, like inventing a robotic claw of shame that would pull his pants down in front of a bunch of kids and render him a registered sex offender if he isn’t able to uncuff himself within 90 seconds! (S01E07),

or re-branding an LA realtor as a ‘Ghost Realtor’ (S02E01) who ends up having a seizure upon being exorcised by a demon hunter!,

or leveraging a legal loophole called “Parody Law” to launch a Dumb Starbucks to help a local coffee shop! (S02E05, the stand-out episode which got Nathan global fame.),

or manufacturing his own ‘a cop pulled me over’ talk-show story and making sure that he is not lying when he narrates it on Kimmel for the promotion of his own show (how Meta!). [S04, Anecdote, changes everything you ever believed about Talk show anecdotes and leaves you unable to trust these pop culture vignettes ever again].

There are comedians who tell jokes, there are comedians who act jokes/sketches, and then there is Nathan Fielder who is awkwardness/cringe/deadpan all rolled into a human form. He conjures up insanely farcical ideas and commits himself fully over to the flawless execution of them even if that means that he has to train for nine months to LEARN TO WALK A TIGHTROPE between two seven-story rooftops while pretending to be SOMEONE ELSE, which he miraculously accomplished in Season 3 finale (aptly titled The Hero) two years ago. At that time, I genuinely thought that this would be his swan song and nothing he does next will be able to top this episode but then I saw Finding Frances, the S04 Finale.

During the above super amusing retelling of the Talk Show story on Meyers’ show, Nathan humbly compared himself to The Beatles, and I super-humbly disagree with that. He isn’t The Beatles. He is the freaking Beethoven of comedy and Finding Frances is not one bit less great than Symphony №9. Just like Beethoven’s compositions, each of his immensely WTF, carefully thought-through and meticulously crafted episodes are masterpieces, but Finding Frances is such a precious, almost-philosophical, (and mostly UNSCRIPTED!) study of regret, love, false identity, and above all, kindness that Nathan can now legit be called an auteur.

‘You are one decision away from having a completely different life.’

This feature-length episode documents Nathan helping Bill Heath, a professional Bill Gates impersonator with whom he’s previously worked in Season 2 (E02, Souvenir Shop), find his long-lost love, Frances Gaddy. Bill is a 78 year old lonely man who admittedly left Frances for a career in Hollywood 60 years ago, never married, and is now regretting the decision. Nathan, upon seeing this man‘s agony, embarks on an ambitious quest to find Frances which leads him to Arkansas, Bill’s hometown.

In Arkansas, among other hilarious attempts to find Frances, he poses as a member of the crew for Mud 2: Never Clean (a made-up sequel to Mud, which was shot at Frances’ alma mater, Dumas high school) to stealthily obtain the 1957 yearbook which might help them get a clue about Frances’ whereabouts. He even organizes a 57 year reunion for her batch, in hopes that her old classmates might offer a clue or two, but all his efforts elicit zero returns.

We have seen Nathan interacting with women in a perfectly normal, non-creepy, not at all awkward fashion in earlier seasons, so things take a very interesting turn when around the halfway mark, Nathan hires an escort, Maci, for Bill to just talk to (only talking, no touching). Bill still refuses to meet her (“You gotta know what you’re sticking it in”) despite Nathan telling him about the No Touching clause. Since her time is already paid for, Nathan decides to meet her himself and instantly falls for her infectious bubbly laugh.

Over the next hour, we see both these men grapple with their loneliness while they look for love in unexpected places. One old, who regrets not being able to hold on to something that could have changed the course of his life, and one young, who doesn’t have anything to hold onto in his life except his elaborate pranks.

Does Nathan see Bill as a cautionary tale? Is he scared that he too would end up a lonely man who got so busy chasing his dreams that he did not have anyone to share the success with when he finally achieved it?

Nathan has a lot of free time in Arkansas which he spends visiting bars and watching TV. He calls Maci again to hang out with him. She agrees because at $350/hour, Nathan isn’t bad company.

After a few meetings, Maci asks Nathan if he would like to see her in a more private setting. He agrees and invites her to his hotel room. The juxtaposition of the tenderness of the above moment with ‘WTF am I seeing?’ hilarity of the next, an ultra cringe-worthy kiss between these two is what makes this show absolutely one of its kind. Nathan, whose TV personality is a mildly amplified version of his real self, is at his most vulnerable when he is with Maci (or is he?). Given that he also directed this episode, his willingness to put himself in these excruciatingly uncomfortable moments and to not edit them out is what sets him apart from his peers. He wears his awkwardness on his sleeve with pride.

As the episode progresses, we find out that Bill is a flawed man. He hasn’t been completely honest with Nathan about his history with Frances. He is a Trump supporter (the episode was shot before the election results) and an entirely different man (read borderline creep) around women. Despite all these revelations, Nathan refuses to back off and goes out of his way to see the regret-filled human side of this old man who is pining for closure. THAT is what makes this episode so much more special than anything Nathan has done so far.

This thesis-worthy documentary, brimming with compassion and a steady undercurrent of loneliness, blurs the lines between fiction and reality. Is Nathan really falling for Maci, or is he pretending because it’s great material? Does Maci also feel the same for him or is it just the money that keeps bringing her back? Did Bill really love Frances or is he just a desperate old poser?

Bill’s arc closes with an incredibly symbolic ‘Bee hunt’ and during the final two minutes of the episode, we become aware of the surprising level of depth Nathan and Maci’s relationship has acquired when Maci finally acknowledges the cameras and this exchange happens,

Maci: “It’s kinda weird having cameras around, right?”

Nathan: “We could turn them off if you want.”

Maci: “Could we?”

Nathan: “Do you want to?”

Maci: “I feel like that… Does that defeat the purpose?”

Nathan: “Of what?”

Maci: “I don’t know.”

Nathan: “What’s the purpose?”

Maci: “You’re filming something. That’s kinda the purpose, right?”

He momentarily looks at the camera as if toying with the idea of ‘FADE TO BLACK’ (which still would have been a great ending) but then, decides to use the drone the production crew has to capture a cool aerial shot. A masterful split-second decision that manages to separate us from them and serves his artistic ambition as well.

As the drone flies up and far above and we see them holding hands, surrounded by the camera crew, I couldn’t help but marvel at the incredible genius of this man who could either be the loneliest artist who has created 2017’s singularly greatest work of reality TV or the biggest poker-faced troll of our generation.

Something we will never be able to know.

– Avinash Verma

(Avinash‘ full time job is to watch movies and in his free time he pretends to be a Digital Marketeer. He occasionally writes on Medium as well.)

Like this:

Like his film projects, his tv debut was also kept a secret till it finally came on air on Sunday at 11am. And it turned out to be exactly the same as we had told you earlier. It started with Aamir Khan’s voiceover (aha, the emotional modulation there, noticed?) talking about where we stand today. And then the chat show started where the topic was female foeticide. Case studies, tears, figures, tears, doctor, more case studies, more tears, more questions and finally a song by Swanand Kirkire and Ram Sampath overlapped with visuals of girl child, Aamir asking the kids to come sit close to him. Aha, if the last season of KBC was poverty porn, this is going one step ahead with just one mantra – we will, we will make you cry!

The set was tacky, production value made it looked like straight out of DD and graphics seemed out of CBSE school books. Who said serious issues need to look boring? Oh wait, our TA wouldn’t get it? That aside, i had two big issues with the show – First, the pitch and positioning of the show. Stand anywhere in Mumbai and you can see Aamir Khan staring into the void from one of the hoards. I am not sure why but i feel here’s our Aamir Jesus Christ. That look, that stare, the gaze, it’s all there in the stills, music videos, hoardings and the show. It’s so repulsive, so rehearsed and so bloody fake! The intention might be honest and i sincerely hope it helps in creating some awareness but one issue, one sunday, one episode – is it some kind of quick fix solution? Also, am cynical because he is the same actor who had suddenly felt about the Narmada Bachao Andolan during the promotion of Rang De Basanti and then vanished from the radar. Of course the release of RDB was just a coincidence. Blame it on my cynical mind!

My other issue is if he is really serious about endorsing social causes, why not let go your entire fees for it? Contribute to the cause and i will respect you for lifelong. There’s no harm in taking money and doing the show but i can’t digest the self-righteousness then. Doing 13 episodes for free isn’t a big deal, right? Go ahead, do it. Shut me up! Otherwise how different is it from NDTV Greenathon or IIFA Charity or such events which are organised by event management companies. Stars endorse the cause, gets paid, sponsors feel they have done their bit of corporate philanthropy and all happy. But is anyone really honest and serious? Aha, the cynical me.

But then the other point is our tv shows are pure garbage. There’s almost nothing to watch. At least this show is trying something new, it’s going to stand out. And in that process if it can serve a purpose, that’s great. Agree.

So i asked on twitter if anyone would be willing to write about the show. Posting two views on the same. First one is by Chintan Bhatt. From my previous interaction with him on twitter, i know for sure that he is a big fan of Aamir Khan.

I was not sure I was going to be able to watch Satyamev Jayate, though I had been waiting eagerly for it from weeks, because the night before which was full of drunken revelry, to celebrate the anniversary of another year of living, of yours truly, ended too late. But by some stroke of miracle, my eyes opened just to the tune of 11 am and with blurry eyes I switched on the TV. The show started and at least the format, the set, seemed nothing out of the ordinary. But as Aamir came on stage, giving a small speech, he did not sit on the sofa right away which was stationed on the middle of the stage. He slowly sat on the steps, just in front of the audience. I smiled and my hangover was gone.

He was not a superstar, or an expert, or a know it all and did not pretend to be one. He was like me, and everyone else. Surrounded by the problems, and people facing it, like we all are, and trying to understand it. Though this format, sets, was something we had seen before, this honesty and intimacy was something Indian television had not witnessed before. When he spoke of the problems, his style was not of preaching but was of self discovery, more than anything else, which let the viewers feel part of the show.

What was striking about the show for me was how all encompassing about the issue it was, or much more than anything I have seen before. Filled with facts and charts and statistics to supplement the emotional quotient and the true stories it presented, it attacked the issue right in its guts and where it hurts given the sense of denial, we as Indians have mastered to live in. The experts, the victims, their tears, the shock in the crowd, the silence that filled the room as they grasped the horror stories and the sense of disbelief on Aamir’s face, were all real and in a way reflected what so many of the viewers too felt.

A few days back I was watching Aamir’s interview on CNBC and the interviewer on being told by Aamir that he has invested 2 years into the show and has given up on the endorsements, crores of rupees he could have earned, of how his selection of show timing was termed suicidal, how to telecast the show on DD so that reaches the most commonest denominator of the population sounded impossible and unheard of, etc, she almost out of frustration asked him, which effectively was, ‘But why do you need to push yourself so much and keep such tough targets for yourself?’ And again, he smiled and shrugged.

My rage on seeing the views trying to demean him and the show on Twitter and elsewhere after watching the show, were gradually replaced by indifference of sorts. Fact which cannot be denied is that in a country obsessed with garbage in the name of entertainment and where smartness is equated with how manipulative and selfishly you can lead your life, he made the whole country talk about one of the most inhumane and disgustingly hidden practice which has become a commonality behind closed doors.

The anger towards the pointless and forced cynicism was further nullified by the thought I had of those thousands of families who would have done these heinous activities, which will be taken up in all the episodes of the show, who will now be forced to sit and think hopefully. Of all those silent voices, all those abused and assaulted, all those bullied and tortured who will now again have hope of fighting for their right to survive and live. Yes, its sounds good to say that we don’t need an Aamir Khan to tell us what is good and bad, we are too educated and intellectual for that, but as the biggest revelation of today’s episode was that education has nothing to do with goodness, intellect has nothing to do with being humane. We are living in an imperfect, corrupt and insensitive world, and we need heroes desperately, we need to face harsh true stories desperately, we need to know what being humane feels again desperately, and in this same imperfect world, this show does that. It forces the monsters in laws of the country to look in the eyes of their daughters in law, of their near and dear ones and face the truth. It makes the demonic husbands to feel ashamed and disgusted at themselves, if not from the inside, then the world in their immediate surroundings should have a collective voice to ridicule them, and this show will do that. We are living in a star obsessed country which silently breaths and breeds away from the confines of the cynicism of twitter and their likes, and that’s the nerve this show will catch, hopefully.

No, no one is claiming that this show will solve all the problems of the country. No one is that naive, but it’s worth an attempt, if it gets people to start talking. That’s all. And if that’s the minimum it can do, then be it. As the gentleman sardar who featured in today’s show with teary eyes said, – EVEN IF I CAN SAVE 1 GIRL, ITS ENOUGH. Some battles are worth fighting for, to win or lose is immaterial.

At the end, my bout of anger was gone completely when after about half hour after the show was over, the maid in my house came with a black eye and after few days of not coming to work. On coaxing by my flat mate she revealed that our husband is a drunkard and beats her in front of their two kids incessantly. From the fear of not telling anybody, she does not even scream, she takes it all on silently. And she is too scared to go to the police. Who will tell her and millions of other such stories? Will the cynics look in her eyes and crack a joke on the color of her wound? Well, you never know, they may. But this show talks about these victims, and will give countless number of them the tiniest bit of hope to fight back. By the end of the show Aamir said the biggest contribution was to be done by the youth of this country. And my rage towards the cynics was shifted to anger towards bastards like the maid’s husband, and attempts will be on to do something about it, like they have been from long. As they say there are those who say and crib, and there are those who do. Its very simple.

I remember debates with my father, who used to enjoy the so called escapist cinema which I despise. After a long heated debate, I simply used to ask him, ‘Why do we need to travel to a world unknown to find beauty and strength? Can’t we explore the same around us in our films?’ That is the biggest gift the show has given me. It has given me heroes who exist around me and us, whose beauty lies in their bravery, like all those women who were in the show today. They are the real heroes with real stories. Agreed, there may have been other shows who would do that, but for the first time I felt their bravery and strength, and that is why I thank Aamir and the channel for the show through this small insignificant post. All is not lost, yet.

————–

And here’s the other view. This one is by someone who calls himself The Pucca Critic.

The show started with some scenic shots and Aamir Khan blabbering about himself as an actor and a human being. And that’s what he tried to do throughout the show: I’m The Aamir Khan. I’m India’s inspiring role model. The idol of the common man. I’m here to change your life with this TV show for which I’m charging hefty sum.

No sooner did the show started, we learn that it’s kind of talk show dealing with sensitive social issues. Aamir Khan pretending to be appealing enough for the aam – junta does gigs like sitting at the stairs of the dais while delivering his speech to expect Oh-look, this-superstar-doesn’t-mind-sitting-on-the-floor reaction.

Moving over, we are introduced with 3 ladies who narrated their ghastly tales about how they were tortured after delivering a baby girl. So that’s what the topic of the day was: female foeticide & how it is related with other criminal happenings like ignorance of women in society, sexual harassment and flesh trading. Their emotions were raw. Enough to give you a gulp in the throat.

While discussing a case, crude pictures of the lady being victimized of physical assault by his husband were displayed without a blur (which is how news channels are made to show). A leading daily once made a gore picture of a bomb blast victim to the headline to which their readers irked by remarking them as selling information porn. OK. So this is how Aamir Khan wants his words to touch the hearts?

And more irritating were the reactions by the audience. “Haawww” “Ohh noo..” “Ohhff” That’s how general interactions with the common audience were lacked instead they were focused for their shocks and tears as if they were expecting the public watching on TV to cry too. The flawed direction is made deliberate when a lawyer (part of the related case) interrupts midway of another interview and the interview is carried no further but diverged by the host. I don’t know how many retakes were needed to shoot this!

They also ended up with some marketing of 3G technology of a telecom network by a video conference with some bachelors of Haryana who discussed bachelorhood of Salman Khan. Don’t tell me this wasn’t rigged!

This is how the show meant-to-be inspiring ended with the uninspiring host who asks his audience to send SMS to a number if they support the cause. Do you really think sending SMSes will help?

Finally, Aamir calls up his friend and musician Ram Sampth along with Swanand Kirkire to perform a beautiful, lyrical song “O Re Chiriya.”

What we expect is some improvement in the direction of the show with retaining the raw emotions of the subject and uplifting the enthusiasm of the audience as the show ends.

P.S: If you really want to see inspiring Aamir Khan, watch Sarfarosh or Lagaan. And if you hate Aamir’s face, watch Anoop Soni on Crime Patrol. He’s terrific.

And then came the official song where we saw Jesus Aamir Christ, who is here to save us.

But what is the show about? Well, like Aamir Khan’s movies, the show is also being guarded as a top secret. No details are being given out anywhere. And that’s why you don’t see anything about the show in the teasers or the song. But we suffer from a strange disease – the more you want to keep something as a secret, it makes us more curious. If you belong to the same tribe, we got all the answers for you. If you are not, skip the post.

– Satyamev Jayate is basically a chat show with guests and case studies from across the country.

– The first season will have 13 episodes out of which 10 have already been recorded.

– The idea is to pick one subject and discuss it from every possible angle – social, political, economic and such.

– The subjects include health, water, marriage, child issues (abuse and other), addiction and other social issues.

– The duration of each episode is 90mins.

– Each episode will end with a musical performance of a new song. All songs have been composed by Ram Sampath and lyrics are by Prasoon Joshi, Swanand Kirkire, Munna Dhiman and few others.

– The series is directed by Satyajeet Bhatkal (Aamir’s friend and director of Zokkoman) but every decision is taken by Aamir Khan. The final edit call is also his. Nothing is finalised without his approval.

– The series was earlier produced by Big Synergy. But they wanted to make it more commercial and Aamir wasn’t in favour of it. Currently it’s being produced by Aamir Khan Productions.

– Imran Khan and Sridevi will appear in two different episodes of the series.

– The pilot episode of the series was rejected by Aamir himself after it received negative feedback from test audience.

– The first episode is on girl child discrimination and female infanticide. Not sure if they have changed the sequence.

– Do expect lots of rona-dhona was they discuss sensitive issues. Aamir will be in full Oprah Winfrey avatar.

Anything else? If you have some more dope on it, the comment box is all yours.

Grow up guys! And if you don’t know the trick, then the best way is to watch Kate Winslet’s movies. We just love her! Anyway, here is the tv commercial. It was shot for Newyork Lotto, way back in 2000 and stars Bipasha Basu and Vivek Oberoi. Click on the play button to know if its really a big issue.No pun intended.

We don’t think so, but we got so many requests in our mailbox, we thought its better to put the TVC here than to reply to each post. It seems a body double was also used for her. But then there are close-up shots of hers. And it all looks fake too!

So, what ? During the initial days everyone is willing to go that extra distance. Rewind back to the initial days of most Hollywood superstars, you will be surprised and if you are not aware of it, your jaws are gonna drop and how! Don’t hurt yourself much while googling. Now, they are many paid sites which will offer exactly what you are looking for. 😉

When there is a new Pepsi/Coke campaign on air, you know that summer is near. Coke launched its new campaign with a new brand ambassador – Imran Khan. This is the first brand endorsement deal of Imran Khan. And he follows the footsteps of Mamujaan Aamir Khan who has been endorsing Coke since last few year.

Imran stars with Kalki Koechlin in the new Tv commercial. The new campaign “Open Happiness” has been conceptualised by the creative team of McCann Erickson that includes Prasoon Joshi, Ashish Chakravarty, Tirtha Ghosh and Nakul Sharma. And the film has been directed by Dibakar Banerjee. If you havent seen it yet, click the play button.

Big B’s Big Boss will get over soon and Small B is all set to make his small screen debut. The show is titled Bingo, a reality game show to be aired soon on Colors Channel.

Though not much details is out yet but its confirmed that his freinds from the tinseltown will be part of this game show. The teaser campaign for the show will on air soon and will be promoted as Abhishek’s Aaram Classes. The website is up, check it out.

Yashraj Films is finally making its foray on the small screen. And they are going on air with not one or two but five shows. Four fiction and one reality show. Mahi Way, Rishta.com, Seven, Powder and Lift Kara De.

The four shows covers different genraes and the reality show is the hunt for the biggest fans of the bollywood stars. Shows starts from January 1st, 2010 on Sony TV. And if its Yashraj, do expect some starry dose on these shows too. If we are not wrong, in one of the promos we just spotted their in-house actor turned director Jugal Hansraj. Check it out!